MADISON — It was recently announced that there will be a $3.3 billion investment by the federal government in Wisconsin, a state that, like Mississippi, has geographic connections to the Mississippi River and environmental agriculture. This is wonderful news and, hopefully, can set a precedent for much-needed federal funding, resources and capital investment for the Mississippi Delta.
As we in Mississippi prepare for the annual celebration of the people, land, water and wildlife along the magnificent Mississippi River next month during “River Days” from June 1 to 15, it would be timely for us to seek the same federal funding as Wisconsin to also contribute to innovation in artificial intelligence and economic growth. Particularly where Mississippi is known for inexpensive labor, land and taxes, we ought to be able to approach perhaps companies in Silicon Valley to partner with us in the vast Mississippi Delta with available partners at Mississippi Valley, Mississippi State, Alcorn State and Delta State — all fine institutions of higher learning located in Mississippi. As a former provost at Valley and present founding emeritus provost for the Global Digital Academy with Class2Class in Silicon Valley, I would be willing to volunteer with others at these universities to develop a strategic plan to incubate, implement and institutionalize a Wisconsin-type initiative for the people, land, waterways and wildlife in the Mississippi Delta.
It would seem timely to recognize the federal contribution in Wisconsin toward the top of the Mississippi River while also bringing much-needed attention to an area toward the bottom of the river in the Mississippi Delta. In fact, federal funding for both Mississippi and Wisconsin could be strategically formulated and conceptually framed as an “intrastate” national model for other states cojoined along the Mississippi River and throughout America.
Let us forge ahead for setting a precedent of future history in Mississippi.
- Joseph Martin Stevenson is a former provost at Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State universities. He lives in Madison.
